Locke

Locke

Locke, John, 1632-1704, English philosopher, founder of British empiricism. Locke summed up the Enlightenment in his belief in the middle class and its right to freedom of conscience and right to property, in his faith in science, and in his confidence in the goodness of humanity. His influence upon philosophy and political theory has been incalculable.

Life and Work

Educated at Christ Church College, Oxford, he became (1660) a lecturer there in Greek, rhetoric, and philosophy. He studied medicine, and his acquaintance with scientific practice had a strong influence upon his philosophical thought and method. In 1666, Locke met Anthony Ashley Cooper, the future 1st earl of Shaftesbury, and soon became his friend, physician, and adviser. After 1667, Locke had minor diplomatic and civil posts, most of them through Shaftesbury. In 1675, after Shaftesbury had lost his offices, Locke left England for France, where he met French leaders in science and philosophy.

Returning to England in 1679, he soon retired to Oxford, where he stayed quietly until, suspected of radicalism by the government, he went to Holland and remained there several years (1683-89). In Holland he completed the famous Essay Concerning Human Understanding (1690), which was published in complete form after his return to England at the accession of William and Mary to the English throne. In the same year he published his Two Treatises on Civil Government; part of this work justifies the Glorious Revolution of 1688, but much of it was written earlier. His fame increased, and he became known in England and on the Continent as the leading philosopher of freedom.

Philosophy

In the Essay Concerning Human Understanding Locke examines the nature of the human mind and the process by which it knows the world. Repudiating the traditional doctrine of innate ideas, Locke believed that the mind is born blank, a tabula rasa upon which the world describes itself through the experience of the five senses. Knowledge arising from sensation is perfected by reflection, thus enabling humans to arrive at such ideas as space, time, and infinity.

Locke distinguished the primary qualities of things (e.g., solidity, extension, number) from their secondary qualities (e.g., color, sound). These latter qualities he held to be produced by the impact of the world on the sense organs. Behind this curtain of sensation the world itself is colorless and silent. Science is possible, Locke maintained, because the primary world affects the sense organs mechanically, thus producing ideas that faithfully represent reality. The clear, common-sense style of the Essay concealed many unexplored assumptions that the later empiricists George Berkeley and David Hume would contest, but the problems that Locke set forth have occupied philosophy in one way or another ever since.

Political Theory

Locke is most renowned for his political theory. Contradicting Thomas Hobbes, Locke believed that the original state of nature was happy and characterized by reason and tolerance. In that state all people were equal and independent, and none had a right to harm another's "life, health, liberty, or possessions." The state was formed by social contract because in the state of nature each was his own judge, and there was no protection against those who lived outside the law of nature. The state should be guided by natural law.

Rights of property are very important, because each person has a right to the product of his or her labor. Locke forecast the labor theory of value. The policy of governmental checks and balances, as delineated in the Constitution of the United States, was set down by Locke, as was the doctrine that revolution in some circumstances is not only a right but an obligation. At Shaftesbury's behest, he contributed to the Fundamental Constitutions for the Carolinas; the colony's proprietors, however, never implemented the document.

Ethical Theory

Locke based his ethical theories upon belief in the natural goodness of humanity. The inevitable pursuit of happiness and pleasure, when conducted rationally, leads to cooperation, and in the long run private happiness and the general welfare coincide. Immediate pleasures must give way to a prudent regard for ultimate good, including reward in the afterlife. He argued for broad religious freedom in three separate essays on toleration but excepted atheism and Roman Catholicism, which he felt should be legislated against as inimical to religion and the state. In his essay The Reasonableness of Christianity (1695), he emphasized the ethical aspect of Christianity against dogma.

(born Aug. 29, 1632, Wrington, Somerset, Eng.—died Oct. 28, 1704, Oates, Essex) English philosopher. Educated at Oxford, principally in medicine and science, he later became physician and adviser to the future 3rd earl of Shaftesbury (1667–72). He moved to France, but after Shaftesbury's fall in 1683 he fled to the Netherlands, where he supported the future William III. Locke returned to England after the Glorious Revolution (1688) to become commissioner of appeals, a post he held until his death. In his major philosophical work, Essay Concerning Human Understanding (1690), he argued that knowledge begins in sensation or introspection rather than in innate ideas, as the philosophers of rationalism held. From sensation and reflection the mind receives “ideas,” which are the material of knowledge. Some ideas represent actual qualities of objects (such as size, shape, or weight) and others perceived qualities, which do not exist in objects except as they affect observers (such as colour, taste, or smell); Locke called the former qualities “primary” and the latter “secondary.” Ideas that are given directly in sensation or reflection are simple, and simple ideas may be “compounded” to form complex ideas. Locke did not succeed in giving a clear account of the origin of the idea of substance (it is “a something-I-know-not-what”) or the idea of the “self,” though his account of personal identity in terms of memory was influential. In the philosophy of language, he identified the meanings of words with ideas rather than things. In Two Treatises of Government (1690), he defended a doctrine of natural rights and a conception of political authority as limited and conditional on the ruler's fulfillment of his obligation to serve the public good. A classic formulation of the principles of political liberalism, this work influenced the American and French revolutions and the Constitution of the U.S. He is considered the founding figure of British empiricism.

(born Aug. 29, 1632, Wrington, Somerset, Eng.—died Oct. 28, 1704, Oates, Essex) English philosopher. Educated at Oxford, principally in medicine and science, he later became physician and adviser to the future 3rd earl of Shaftesbury (1667–72). He moved to France, but after Shaftesbury's fall in 1683 he fled to the Netherlands, where he supported the future William III. Locke returned to England after the Glorious Revolution (1688) to become commissioner of appeals, a post he held until his death. In his major philosophical work, Essay Concerning Human Understanding (1690), he argued that knowledge begins in sensation or introspection rather than in innate ideas, as the philosophers of rationalism held. From sensation and reflection the mind receives “ideas,” which are the material of knowledge. Some ideas represent actual qualities of objects (such as size, shape, or weight) and others perceived qualities, which do not exist in objects except as they affect observers (such as colour, taste, or smell); Locke called the former qualities “primary” and the latter “secondary.” Ideas that are given directly in sensation or reflection are simple, and simple ideas may be “compounded” to form complex ideas. Locke did not succeed in giving a clear account of the origin of the idea of substance (it is “a something-I-know-not-what”) or the idea of the “self,” though his account of personal identity in terms of memory was influential. In the philosophy of language, he identified the meanings of words with ideas rather than things. In Two Treatises of Government (1690), he defended a doctrine of natural rights and a conception of political authority as limited and conditional on the ruler's fulfillment of his obligation to serve the public good. A classic formulation of the principles of political liberalism, this work influenced the American and French revolutions and the Constitution of the U.S. He is considered the founding figure of British empiricism.

A devastating fire in 1912 destroyed about thirty buildings in Locke village.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 24.4 square miles (63.2 km²), of which, 24.4 square miles (63.2 km²) of it is land and 0.04 square miles (0.1 km²) of it (0.08%) is water.

The Owasco Inlet is a stream flowing northward through the town into Owasco Lake. Hemlock Creek joins the Owasco Inlet at Locke village. The town is in the Finger Lakes District of New York.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there are 1,900 people, 704 households, and 539 families residing in the town. The population density is 77.9 people per square mile (30.1/km²). There are 760 housing units at an average density of 31.1/sq mi (12.0/km²). The racial makeup of the town is 98.26% White, 0.26% African American, 0.42% Native American, 0.42% Asian, and 0.63% from two or more races. 0.42% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There are 704 households out of which 39.3% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.8% are married couples living together, 10.1% have a female householder with no husband present, and 23.3% are non-families. 17.6% of all households are made up of individuals and 6.1% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.70 and the average family size is 3.00.

In the town the population is spread out with 28.2% under the age of 18, 8.4% from 18 to 24, 29.0% from 25 to 44, 24.5% from 45 to 64, and 9.9% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 36 years. For every 100 females there are 100.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 100.6 males.

The median income for a household in the town is $37,885, and the median income for a family is $41,250. Males have a median income of $28,793 versus $22,188 for females. The per capita income for the town is $16,580. 8.9% of the population and 7.0% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 10.8% of those under the age of 18 and 2.2% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.

Communities and locations in Locke

Centerville -- An historic location north of Locke village.

Chipman Corners -- A hamlet in the southeast of the town on County Road 161 (Chipman Corners Road).